Tape Loops

For his first solo recording since departing from Death Cab for Cutie in 2014, producer/multi-instrumentalist Chris Walla created an album of calm, sparse ambient pieces appropriately titled Tape Loops. This might come as a surprise to fans of his former band, or groups that he's worked with such as Tegan and Sara or the Decemberists, or even his 2008 solo album Field Manual, but he's had such a major impact in shaping Death Cab's sound that it seems natural for him to shift his focus to creating atmosphere rather than songwriting. It's also in line with his budding career as a composer of film scores. Most of the album's pieces consist of slowly unfolding loops of piano, synthesizer, bass tones, and gently ringing delay, often with a warm layer of tape hiss. They generally feel reflective and somewhat sad or wistful. Several of the selections sound like they could be direct sequels to Brian Eno's pioneering Music for Airports album. It's not hard to hear how some of these melodies could have been incorporated into Death Cab songs or soundtrack work, but here they're given room to breathe, stretch, and inhabit space. While most of the pieces loop for up to 11 minutes rather than building and developing, "I Believe in the Night" feels more like a proper song, clocking in at only four minutes and featuring layers of vibrating organ and electric piano and a slowly expanding atmosphere. Closing track "Flytoget" plays with adding gentle acoustic guitar notes to evenly spaced, sustain-heavy piano patterns, ending the album on a slightly more lighthearted note than one might expect. Even though Tape Loops feels cold and wintry and with a hint of melancholy or regret, it's still a soothing, reflective, refreshing listen. ~ Paul Simpson

アトモスフェリックな鍵盤の音色を浮かび上がらせんと、極限まで音数を削ったプロダクション。クリス・ウォラのソロ2作目は、アンビエント/ポスト・クラシカル的な風合いの一枚となった。デス・キャブ・フォー・キューティ脱退後初めての作品だからこそ、2008年の前作『Field Manual』同様、〈ひとりデスキャブ〉と言えるような内容を期待したファンも少なくないだろうが、あえて制約の多いアナログ・レコーディングに挑んだ本盤からは、プロデューサー/エンジニアとしても活躍してきた音響芸術家ならではの彼の美学が窺える。全5曲39分。甘美なピアノの旋律に耳を傾けながら、シンセが思いのほかサスペンスフルに鳴っていることに気付いたとき、聴き応えはよりいっそう大きなものに。
bounce (C)山口智男